


Nothing More Than Enchanted Paintwork

by the_secret_wordsmith



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, BAMF Minerva McGonagall, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Drabble, F/F, Fluff, M/M, McGonagall ships wolfstar, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter), POV Minerva McGonagall, Post-Sirius Black in Azkaban, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Walburga Black is nasty, Wordcount: 500-1.000, bigotry kills the soul, but as a child she was sweet, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26441134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_secret_wordsmith/pseuds/the_secret_wordsmith
Summary: Minerva McGonagall comes face to face with the painted remnants of a woman she once loved. But it is her reunion with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin that brings her real joy.
Relationships: Remus Lupin & Minerva McGonagall, Sirius Black & Minerva McGonagall, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Minerva McGonagall, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Walburga Black/Minerva McGonagall
Comments: 6
Kudos: 67





	Nothing More Than Enchanted Paintwork

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to write something for this strange little ship. It's not happy but, erm, there's fluffy wolfstar so... *shrugs*

Minerva McGonagall arrived at Grimmauld Place with a heavy feeling in her chest and watched, lips pursed, as number twelve appeared before her.

This was the house where Walburga had grown up. This was the house where Sirius had grown up. And this was the place where the mother had tormented and abused the son.

It was not a nice place.

Minerva made her way up the steps and rapped smartly on the door. It was opened by a harassed looking Molly Weasley and Minerva was about to greet her in a friendly fashion when an ear-piercing scream started from further down the hall.

“BLOOD TRAITORS! MUDBLOODS! HALF-BREEDS!”

“Sorry,” Molly cried as Minerva hurried inside and the door slammed shut behind her, “That's the portrait of Sirius's mother.”

And then Minerva recognised the cries, that heavy feeling in her chest growing and sinking and solidifying. Walburga was here.

“Come through,” Molly managed to get out as she led the way down the narrow hallway to a door near the end, which supposedly led to the kitchen.

But Minerva stopped by the portrait opposite the door: the portrait of her first confidant, her first kiss, her first real friend; and the woman stopped screaming.

“How did you do that?” Molly asked but Minerva's attention was enraptured by the portrait she stood before.

Flat, two dimensional eyes widened as they looked out at her. They were grey, as they'd been in life; grey as their son's still were, no doubt. But Walburga wasn't really here, Minerva reminded herself; that evil pure-blood bigot was dead and gone, and the sweet nervous girl she'd been so long before that had been dead longer, killed by age and time and so-called “growing up”.

“Professor McGonagall.”

The voice was new and changed, but also achingly familiar. Minerva let out a soft breath and turned to see Sirius standing in the kitchen doorway.

Molly had disappeared and it was just the two of them in the hallway now: the professor and the ex-student who had caused her so much trouble, and then so much pain: the boy who hadn't betrayed his friends to Voldemort but who had spent twelve years in Azkaban for the crime anyway.

Minerva blinked furiously. “Sirius Black.”

He grinned at her. His face was older, gaunter, more lined; but those eyes had that same mischievous glint in them they'd had when he'd sent her a howler for Valentines at the age of thirteen, or when he and Remus Lupin had made it snow inside the Great Hall the Christmas after. Foolish, brilliant boys!

“It's good to see you, professor,” Sirius said, still grinning. Then his gaze flitted behind her, to where his mother sat, still made mute by Minerva's mere presence. His brows furrowed slightly and he opened his mouth, as though to ask the question Minerva never wanted to answer for him.

Because what could she say? Your mother was not always the wicked evil woman that you had to put up with for your entire childhood? It just wouldn't be fair and Sirius had had more than enough of his share of unfair.

“Is Remus here?” She asked quickly, changing to a subject she knew Sirius would want to talk about. And she was right: his eyes brightened even more, and his grin broadened.

“You worried we might start making it snow during the order meetings?” He asked, and she tutted, amused.

“I heard my name.”

Minerva smiled as Remus Lupin appeared in the doorway behind Sirius. He looked at Sirius then over to Minerva herself, smile as polite and charming as it had been barely two years ago when he'd been a professor himself. She had greatly enjoyed that time.

“Hello Remus,” She said and he grinned. But then he too noticed the silent gaping Walburga behind her. Minerva cleared her throat hastily, “Shall we make our way through? Is the meeting to be held in the kitchen then?”

“Oh, yeah,” Sirius said but he was now looking back at the mute portrait behind her. “Professor...”

“I think you can call me Minerva, Sirius.”

“Really?” The man in his thirties looked like an eleven year old boy once again, his eyes wide and teeth gleaming as he grinned. Minerva fought the urge to snort but Remus didn't. He nudged Sirius gently on the shoulder.

“You're both grown-ups now, Pads,” he said, voice softening slightly and Minerva looked away as the two men gazed at each other with such tenderness in their eyes.

It made her happy though, that despite all they'd both been through, they could now have some small share of joy. She couldn't think of two people more deserving of love, more worthy of it, and more in need of it too.

Then the moment ended as Molly came back out to look for them, and they were all cajoled through into the kitchen for the meeting.

Minerva was the last in. At the doorway, she looked back. Walburga was still staring at her, eyes wide, mouth trembling a little, but Minerva didn't hesitate: what she'd had with Walburga had never been what Sirius and Remus now had. She swished her wand and the curtains closed on what was, in the end, nothing more than enchanted paintwork.

Walburga Black was dead, and the girl Minerva had known and loved had been dead for a lot longer than the woman whose portrait she had today rendered mute.

Minerva McGonagall sheaved her wand, closed the kitchen door with a satisfying click, and then sat down with Sirius and Remus as the order meeting got under way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> McGonagall features heavily in my slow burn "Its Loveliness Increases" which centres on wolfstar/ Marauders at Hogwarts, and I wrote this to help me figure out something for the plot in that. Also - the Marauder pranks mentioned in this are in that fic, one already and one to be there later.
> 
> Have a nice day :P


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